The present invention relates to a manikin assembly and more particularly, to a manikin assembly which may be used to test a vehicle seat by simulating the forces which are normally imparted upon the seat by the bodily movements of a passenger or driver and the vibratory forces which are typically imparted upon the seat by the vehicle.
Vehicle seats comprise a variety of movably interconnected components which are formed and/or made from a relatively wide variety of materials including plastic, leather, metal and/or foam. These components and the assemblies which interconnect with these components are subject to damage and/or destruction which is caused by repeated seat adjustment, usage, and/or vibrations produced by the vehicle as it traverses relatively rough roads. Such repeated usage, adjustment and/or vibrations which are generated from and/or by the vehicle and which are caused by the traversing of the vehicle over uneven or xe2x80x9croughxe2x80x9d road surfaces, further cause these interconnecting components to become loose and to undesirably squeak and/or rattle. Such squeaks or rattles are indicative of structural degradation and may annoy the passengers and/or operator of the vehicle and undesirably increase vehicle maintenance expenses.
In order to substantially minimize and/or reduce the occurrence of such squeaks, rattles and/or degradation, a variety of seat configurations or xe2x80x9cdesignsxe2x80x9d are typically tested for potential use within a vehicle in order to develop seats which are substantially resistant to such degradation. In order to adequately test these various seats and/or seat configurations, tests and testing assemblies must be developed that simulate many years of seat usage within a relatively short period of time.
One device that is used to simulate vehicle seat usage is a manikin and/or a manikin assembly which has the general shape of an human occupant. Particularly, the manikin is stationarilly or passively placed within and/or upon a seat which is to be tested, and the seat is then made to vibrate as the manikin passively resides within the seat. As these vibrations are imparted to the manikin-containing seat, rattles, squeaks, and/or various types of structural seat degradation are noted. Although these manikins and these tests do provide some indication of the overall reliability and/or durability of the seat or seating configuration, they do not accurately represent the true nature and amount of the forces which are actually applied to or impinge upon the seat during normal or xe2x80x9creal lifexe2x80x9d usage (e.g., those forces and/or vibrations which emanate from the driving of the vehicle upon the road and those forces and/or motions which are concomitantly applied to the seat from an individual residing within the seat).
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks and provides a manikin and/or manikin assembly which accurately simulates the forces and vibrations that a vehicle seat is subjected to as it is actually employed within a vehicle. Further the manikin and/or manikin assembly allows the effect of these forces, occurring over the operating life of the seat, to be desirably and substantially and accurately simulated within a reasonably short amount of time.
It is a first object of the present invention to provide a manikin assembly which allows a seat to be tested in a manner which overcomes the various and previously delineated drawbacks of prior testing methodologies and/or strategies.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide a manikin assembly which allows vibrational forces and operator type motion forces to be simultaneously applied to a seat, effective to allow the seat to be selectively subjected to forces which accurately represent normal usage of a vehicle seat over a substantial period of time.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, an assembly for testing a seat which is selectively disposed upon a testing platform is provided. The assembly comprises a manikin assembly having a buttocks portion which is selectively disposed upon the seat, a torso portion which is pivotally and selectively coupled to the buttocks portion, and a first force generator which is selectively coupled to the torso portion and which selectively generates and communicates a first force to the torso portion; and a second force generator which generates a second force and which selectively communicates the second force to the platform while the first force is selectively communicated to the torso portion.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for testing the durability of seats is provided. The method includes the steps of placing a manikin assembly having a torso simulating portion upon a vehicle seat; subjecting said vehicle seat to simulated road conditions; and selectively applying a force against said torso simulating portion of said manikin assembly, thereby causing said force to be applied against said torso support portion of said vehicle seat.
According to a third embodiment of the present invention, a method for testing the durability of seats is disclosed. The method includes placing a manikin assembly having a torso simulating portion upon a vehicle seat; subjecting the vehicle seat to simulated road conditions; and applying force against said torso support of said vehicle seat by placing force against the torso simulating portion of said manikin assembly.